Shafer out as Michigan's defensive coordinator

Larry E. Wright | The Ann Arbor NewsScott Shafer was Michigan's defensive coordinator for only one season. He resigned Tuesday afternoon, according to the school

Following a season in which the University of Michigan football team allowed the most points in school history, defensive coordinator Scott Shafer has resigned.

The university announced the resignation in a news release Tuesday afternoon.

"Scott and I agreed that moving in a different direction was in the best interest of the program," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said in a written statement. "I appreciate Scott's hard work on behalf of Michigan football the past year. He is a good football coach, a good person and a true professional. We wish him well in the future."

A Michigan athletic department spokesman said Rodriguez was out of town recruiting and would not comment further Tuesday about Shafer's departure.

The move was no surprise, however, given Shafer's absence from recruiting events the past two weekends in Ann Arbor, and the performance of Michigan's defense throughout 2008.

Given its eight returning starters, the defense was expected to be the Wolverines' strong suit. Instead, it became another problem - along with a low-scoring offense and mistake-prone special teams - during Michigan's 3-9 campaign.

The Wolverines ranked 10th in the Big Ten in scoring defense at 28.9 points per game, ranked ninth in passing defense and ranked ninth in total defense. They also tied for last in the conference in turnovers forced.

In Big Ten play, Michigan gave up more than 40 points on four occasions, including 42 to Ohio State, 45 to Illinois, 46 to Penn State and 48 to Purdue. Illinois, Penn State and Purdue had never before scored that many points against the Wolverines.

Shafer, who also worked with Michigan's cornerbacks, came to Ann Arbor after spending last year as the defensive coordinator at Stanford and the two seasons prior to that as the coordinator at Western Michigan.

In 2006, he was nominated for the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant. His Western Michigan unit set a Mid-American Conference record that season for fewest rushing yards allowed per game and led the NCAA in sacks.

There were no such superlatives for Michigan's defense this year, which will be led in 2009 by someone else. The news release said that "Rodriguez will evaluate his staff and review all possibilities before deciding upon a new defensive coordinator."

Two of the team's other defensive assistants - Bruce Tall and Tony Gibson - followed Rodriguez to Michigan from West Virginia, and have coordinator experience, albeit at a lower level of football. Tall, now the defensive line coach, was a coordinator at Ohio Wesleyan, Northeastern and Harvard. Gibson coordinated West Virginia Tech's defense for two seasons. He is currently Michigan's secondary coach.

Perhaps the most likely choice for coordinator from the current staff is linebackers coach Jay Hopson, who coordinated the Southern Mississippi defense from 2005-07. In each of those three seasons, Southern Mississippi led Conference USA in scoring defense.